This invention relates to a display system for beverage bottle packages and, in particular, to a display system for 12-bottle and 6-bottle packages.
Retail merchandisers have found that large floor displays of beverage packages are a good way to market popular beverages, such as soda and beer. For special promotions a large floor display of beverage packages is particularly desirable when there is a shortage of shelf space. And even when limited shelf space is available, a floor display may be more advantageous for a special promotion because limited shelf space requires labor to replenish the stock. A neat, attractive display is also helpful to generate sales by appealing to a person's impulses to purchase the displayed product.
The most popular beverage packages for floor displays are probably can packages. There are at least two good reasons for this popularity. First, the configurations of the common 24-can packages and 12-can packages are well-suited to serve as building blocks for sturdy, self-supporting displays. Thus, these displays are easy to build. Second, many beverage producers invest a lot of money to design a colorful, attractive 24-can and 12-can packages, which makes for an aesthetically pleasing display.
The ubiquitous 6-can packages are also amenable to a floor display if they are stacked in the case containers in which are usually delivered to a retailer. If they are stacked in a display without their case containers, the 6-can packages become unstable as the display grows in height. Thus, the case containers, which hold four 6-can packages, are necessary to provide stability to a large display. Moreover, these case containers generally only cover the bottom halves of the cans, which allows easy removal of the 6-can packages from the display and reveals the top-halves of the cans, which are usually colorful and attractive.
From a marketing point of view, large floor displays of beverage bottle packages are probably just as desirable to a retailer as floor displays of beverage can packages. In fact, the need for large floor displays of beverage bottle packages is increased by the fact that many people prefer their beverages from a bottle rather than a can. Building a large floor display of beverage bottle packages, however, is not a straightforward matter.
One significant problem is stability. For example, beer, a popular bottled beverage, is typically sold in six 12-ounce bottle or twelve 12-ounce bottle packages. The shape and rigidity of these packages allow a small, stable display (a couple rows high) to be built, but larger displays usually become increasingly unstable as more rows are added. A stable display is critical for glass bottle packages, especially since the display is vulnerable to being bumped by customers or their shopping carts.
One approach to building a floor display for beverage bottle packages is to leave the 6-bottle or 12-bottle packages in their case containers. These packages usually come in a 24-bottle cardboard case container that encloses the smaller packages. If necessary, the tops of each case container are cut off before the display is built to allow the smaller packages to be easily removed by the customers.
While this approach overcomes the stability problem, it is not entirely satisfactory. For some beverages, such as beer, the case containers completely enclose the bottle packages. Thus, even if the top of the case container is removed, the sides of the relatively unattractive case container conceal all or most of the colorful bottle packages. The result is a display that is less appealing than one that highlights the attractive bottle packages. Moreover, when a case container has been emptied by customers, it requires attention and labor to be removed from the display. Otherwise it adds clutter and detracts from the display's appearance.
A company called "Paul Flum ideas inc." of St. Louis, Missouri has taken another approach, the PERMASTAK.TM. display system, for one particular type of 6-bottle package. The distinguishing feature of this particular package is that the necks of all six bottles extend through and above the top of the package. To this end, the PERMASTAK.TM. display system includes a base unit, a plurality of shelves and a shelf holder. The top sides of the base unit and each shelf are divided into 12 rectangular compartments by two vertical and three horizontal intersecting ribs. Each compartment is designed to accept one of the 6-bottle packages. Shelves are stacked on successive rows of packages to build the display. The ribs, along with a raised skirt around the perimeter of the base unit and each shelf, provide abutments for the bottoms of the 6-bottle packages. Six circular troughs are formed into the top side of each shelf compartment to provide corresponding circular ridges on the undersides of the shelves. A shelf is placed on top of a row of these particular packages so that the tops of the bottles will be enclosed by the circular ridges. The shelf holder is provided to store empty shelves.
While the PERMASTAK.TM. system provides certain advantages in building a floor display for one particular type of bottle package, it still leaves a number of important problems unsolved. For instance, a separate system is required for other types of packages, such as 12-bottle packages. Moreover, if this system is to be used for enclosed bottle packages (such as most beer bottle packages), the circular ridges will provide no additional stability. In fact, these ridges may actually decrease the stability of the system because they reduce the surface area on which the shelf sits. Still another shortcoming of the PERMASTAK.TM. display system is that its shelf holder has a smooth bottom. Thus, the empty trays placed within the shelf holder must lean against an adjacent wall or the display, or they will fall over. If the empty trays lean against the display, they make it more difficult to remove packages from the display and may still fall over when the display gets too low. If a wall is required to support the empty shelves, the locations in which the PERMASTAK.TM. system can be used are limited.